FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

scriber to read out to him what had been put in writing. This was done in order to correct any mistakes committed while writing. This was the beginning of the compilation of the Quran. The next stage after the transcription was to memorize the text. The Prophet himself asked the Companions to memorize the revealed verses and repeat the same in their prayers. Thus the message of the Quran was transmitted by oral tradition and written medium even during the lifetime of the Prophet. Among his Companions were a select group of about half a dozen katib-e-wahy—transcribers of the revelations. A few of these scribes were always present in the Prophet’s company, and whenever any part of the Quran was revealed, the Prophet would recite it to them. Thereupon, at the exact moment of revelation, they would not only commit it to memory, but would write it down on any available material, such as paper, bones, leather or animal skin. In former times, when the accepted way of disseminating the subject matter of a book was to memorize it, then recite it, it was quite exceptional that the Quran should have been both memorized and preserved in writing. This was like having a double checking system, whereby memorized words and written words could be constantly checked against each other. The second point concerns the arrangement of the verses and chapters of the Quran. When the Quran was revealed in parts, at different times according to the demand of circumstances, how did it come to be arranged in its present form? We find the answer in the books of Hadith. It has been proved from authentic traditions that the angel Gabriel, who conveyed the revelations of God to the Prophet, had himself arranged these verses. According to the traditions, each year during the month of Ramazan, the angel Gabriel came to the Prophet and recited before him all the Quranic verses revealed till that time, in the order in which they exist today. And after listening to the recitation by the angel Gabriel, the Prophet repeated the verses in the order in which he had heard them. This dual process has been termed al-Irza—mutual presentation—in the books of Hadith. (Fathul Bari) It is also established in these books that in the last year of the Prophet’s life, when the revelations had been completed, Gabriel came to the Prophet and recited the entire Quran in the existing order twice, and The Quran is a revealed book: it is not authored by a human being. It is the actual word of God in human language.